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Group Cognitive Rehabilitation and Exposure/Sorting Therapy: A Pilot Program

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Abstract

While cognitive-behavioral therapy for hoarding disorder (HD) has resulted in significant reductions in symptoms, most individuals continue to have significant hoarding symptoms following treatment. This investigation sought to extend the literature on the behavioral treatments for hoarding by examining (1) group cognitive rehabilitation and exposure/sorting therapy (CREST) and (2) group exposure therapy (ET) for hoarding. Participants in both studies reported significant decreases in hoarding symptom severity from baseline to post-treatment on all primary outcome measures using mixed-effects linear regression models with the intent to treat sample. Participants who received group CREST reported statistically significant reductions in anxiety, depression, and overall severity at post-treatment, while participants who received group ET did not. Results provide preliminary evidence for both group CREST and group ET as effective treatments for hoarding disorder.

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Funding

This study was funded by a Career Development Award (CSRD-068-10S) and a Merit Award (CLNA-005-14S) from the Clinical Science R and D Program of the Veterans Health Administration awarded to Catherine Ayers, Ph.D., ABPP. The contents do not reflect the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Government.

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Correspondence to Catherine R. Ayers.

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Conflict of Interest

Catherine R. Ayers, Mary E. Dozier, Charles T. Taylor, Tina L. Mayes, James O. E. Pittman, Elizabeth W. Twamley declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Animal Rights Statement

No animal studies were carried out by the authors for this article.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Ayers, C.R., Dozier, M.E., Taylor, C.T. et al. Group Cognitive Rehabilitation and Exposure/Sorting Therapy: A Pilot Program. Cogn Ther Res 42, 315–327 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-017-9878-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-017-9878-1

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